The Netherlands

Blooming Beautiful  – the Dutch Flower Growing Industry

Aalsmere is the center of the Dutch flower growing industry with more than 70 acres of greenhouses and more than 3000 growers sending their flowers to the auctioneers daily – the largest auction in the world !! It is also one of the largest commercial buildings in the world. Its area is the equivalent of about 120 football fields. 14 million flowers and 1.5 million plants are sold daily.

 

Keukenhof, near the town of Lisse, is possibly the most famous flower show in the world. It is only open in Spring when the bulbs are at their best.

 

Marken, a formerly isolated island

The village of Marken was separated from the Holland mainland by a storm surge in the 13th century. They remained isolated as a community living on an island in the Zuiderzee from the progress the mainland was making for many centuries. In 1957 it was reconnected to the mainland by a dyke.

The inhabitants to this day lead a simple somewhat primitive life. They are strictly Protestant and tend to inter-marry. Many still wear traditional dress.

In Memory of the Valor and Sacrifices which Hallow this Soil : US Netherlands  Memorial

In the picturesque village of Margraten in the south eastern corner of the Netherlands lie 8,302 tombstones. Stars of David for those that professed the Jewish faith, Latin crosses for the others. 106 are Unknowns, whose remains were never positively identified.

This site was liberated on September 13, 1944 by the US 30th Infantry Division, part of the US First Army that were advancing northeast towards the Roer River in Germany. A battlefield cemetery, one of the first used for the interment of US soldiers who fell on German soil, was established here on November 10, 1944.

A bronze memorial stands at the east end of the Court of Honor with reflecting pool. The mourning figure, doves, the new shoot from the war-destroyed tree are befittingly described by the inscription on the stone base: New Life From War’s Destruction Proclaims Man’s Immortality And Hope For Peace……….

 

 

 

 

The Point Where 3 Countries Meet

Drielandenpunt is the point where Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet. It also references the highest point in the Netherlands which, as a land as flat as its traditional and delicious pannekoeken, is not saying much : 323 meters (about 1060 feet). There are approximately 176 international tripoints.

 

 

 

The Dutch Sea Land (Zeeland)

Since time immemorial the Dutch have battled the ranging, reaching forces of the sea.

The Dutch province of Zeeland (Sea Land), in the west of the country, consists of low lying land adrift in a vast delta into which the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt Rivers drain. It has been an area of constant flooding over the centuries with 2 floods of biblical proportion. In 1421 a flood took 100 000 lives and devastation struck again more recently in 1953 with 2000 lives lost and hundreds of miles of dykes devastated. The latter inspired what is referred to as the Delta Works.

The Delta Works is a huge construction project that aimed to protect large areas of land from the sea by construction dykes, docks, levees, storm surge barriers …… It took over 50 years to complete although it is acknowledged that the project will need to be somewhat ongoing with rising sea levels.

With the sheer amount of flat water and exposure to the elements it is also a windsurfers’ paradise, albeit most of the time on the chilly side !

Freezing in Friesland

The Province of Friesland (now referred to as Fryslan) is a province in the North West of Holland. If water territory is counted, it is the largest province in the country and has about 195 windmills. Historically, artificial dwelling hills were built as far back as 500 BC to protect early inhabitants against tidal waters. A massive rise in sea level around 300 AD resulted in the population leaving the area. Around 700 AD further artificial dwelling hills were constructed but by 1200 dykes became the preferred method in the Dutch people’s eternal struggle against the sea.

Black and white Frisian cattle originated in this area as well as many of the world’s fastest speed skaters. When it is cold enough the Elfstedentocht is held here on the frozen canals: an 120 mile race through eleven cities.

In the town of Sneek is a beautiful water gate, called Waterpoort. It is a gate in the city’s defensive wall that connects it to the waterway. The defensive walls were built around the city in the 15th-16th century. The gate was constructed in 1613. Although much of the wall has been demolished, the water gate remains.

Wadden Islands

The Wadden Islands (or Frisian Islands) are a group of 5 barrier islands in the north-west Netherlands that shield the mudflat region of the Wadden Sea from the North Sea. See more about this area here. The biggest is Texel. We camped on the sand and enjoyed the peace and solitude of miles of sand and scenery. We took the ferry across from the mainland – dogs and all.

Texel is, funnily enough, famous in military history as the only place where a Navy was defeated on horseback. Occupying Holland in 1795, the French Continental Army learned that the nightly Dutch Navy was frozen into the ice around Texel. Commandant Louis Lahure and 128 men rode up to it and demanded surrender. No shots were fired.

During WW2 the sea north of Texel was also the scene of what is known as the Texel Disaster – the sinking of 2 British warships and severe damage to a 3rd by German mines.

Afsluitdijk

The Afsluitdijk is a marvel of Dutch engineering in their infinite quest to keep the sea away from their low lying land.

Built over a 5 year period and completed in 1932 it pushes 20 miles across the Zuider Zee (a salt water inlet of the North Sea) keeping the sea on one side and forming the fresh water Ijselmeer on the other.

More on the travels of this white dog can be found at: www.dogwilltravel.com

During the Battle of the Afsluitdijk in May 1940 the Dutch defeated the German’s attempt to take North Holland and fought valiantly to protect the Dijk. Unfortunately the Germans had punctuated the country’s borders in other areas and the Netherlands surrendered on May 15, 1940.

The Boy who Saved the Community By Sticking his finger in a Dyke.

In the Dutch town of Haarlem is a statue dedicated to the boy who stuck his finger in a dyke to save the community from the ravages of the encroaching sea.

The story goes that a young boy noticed a leak in a dyke (a dyke is a man-made wall that functions as a water control structure – they are vital in the Netherlands which lies largely below sea level, see The Dutch Sea Land (Zeeland) post ). The boy stuck his finger in the hole which stopped the leak and spent all night alone in the cold waiting for help. It was only the next day that the boy was found by the grateful townsfolk who repaired the dyke and averted tragedy.

It is but a story, but the statue is dedicated to the Dutch youth to honor the boy who symbolizes the perpetual struggle of Holland against the water.

A Few Random Notes on Amsterdam

We moved to the Netherlands sight unseen. Knew nothing about the place outside of the rumors of red light districts and ‘coffee’ shops (just don’t go in and expect a latte !); and the cliched stories of the boy holding back the advancing sea with his finger plugging a hole in a dyke and Anne Frank hiding two years during the Nazi witch hunt of the Jews in a secret annex of a house on Prinsengracht.

Back in the 17th century Amsterdam was the commercial and cultural capital of Europe. Dutch Artists, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals and van Goyen are credited with launching the Era of Realism in paintings. Amsterdam remains a cultural wonder and melting pot. High end designer boutiques line ancient cobble stoned roads hardly wide enough for a horse-drawn wagon on the way to the cheese market. If a car is carelessly parked, or broken down, or heaven forbid a moving truck has got itself stuck -then you have a problem ! (Incidentally a phrase the Dutch use often!) Louboutin-heeled ladies lounge in ubiquitous sidewalk cafes beside gypsies and stragglers and Nigerian drug dealers. Horns honk continuously, tram cars squeal from one stop to the next : from Oude Kerk (the Old Church in the middle of the Red Light District) through Dam Square with the Royal Palace and tourists and millions of pigeons; past the trendy Jordaan to Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein with their night clubs, art scene and live performers……..

And everywhere there’s bikes and dogs and dogs in bikes and running beside them, and walking to one of the many city parks, and sitting under the tables of one of the many city cafes. Amsterdam is a great place to have a dog. We did not know this.

So we rented a place in a small town near the Dutch flower fields called Hillegom and lived on Haven (the harbor). We arrived with the coldest winter in a decade. – 15 celsius ! With great foresight someone had sent a red and white striped knitted sweater for Spike. An inspired gift !

The Netherlands is built on the water and most of the country lies below sea level – hence the struggle of the Dutch since time immemorial against it. Canals are everywhere channeling oily, dark water criss cross across the flat land and the Dutch wait for temperatures like we experienced with unbridled enthusiasm !

The country’s canals froze and the Elfstedentocht was on ! This is a 120 mile long skating race held in the north of Holland which leads past the 11 historical cities of the province of Friesland. But only when the ice is at least 6 inches thick !

Although we weren’t on the Elfstedentocht route the frozen canal outside our small rental house had everyone out on it – including Spike ! Read more about the world travels of Spike here !